BMWi SME-Study

Guiding criteria – Study for BMWi shows economic potential of Design for All and gives practical advice to businesses (SME)

On behalf of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) ­(German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) grauwert, together with NeumannConsult, TU Hamburg-Harburg and EDAD, conducted a study and, based on the results, created a guide, in order to give businesses an understanding of the relevant criteria and provide them with practical advice on how to implement the Design for All concept.

The results and the guide (Praktikerleitfaden) were presented on 15 May at the BMWi. Iris Gleicke, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMWi and representative of the Federal Government for small and medium sized businesses, opened the event: “It is vital for businesses to adapt their products and services to changing consumer demands. This guide, and the study on which it is based, are extremely useful in this context.”
Hans-Peter Bursig of the German Electric and Electronic Manufacturers’ ­Association welcomes the initiative of the BMWi, as it manages to make ­Design for All – an initially quite theoretical concept – easy to understand and apply, especially for small and medium sized businesses (SME). “This guide not only makes Design for All very accessible as a subject, it also demonstrates that there are real economic opportunities for businesses.”
A short version of this Study (PDF in english) and the practical guide (Praktikerleitfaden /PDF german only), are also available in print from grauwert.